Intended as a discussion group, the blog has evolved to be more of a reading list of current issues affecting our county, its government and people. All reasonable comments and submissions welcomed. Email us at: bill.pysson@gmail.com
REMEMBER: To view our sister blog for education issues: www.district100watchdog.blogspot.com

downtown solar-powered trash compactor is the first of its kind for any of Waste Management's clients in Illinois or Indiana.

units can range in price from $3,000 to $5,000 each….cuts down on the number of needed collection trips by 80 percent — and it has a built-in monitor with a radio transmitter which signals crews when it is full.

With less collection needed, the city[Philadelphia] hopes to save about $850,000 the first year and about $13 million over the next 10 years, the report states.

the county could take advantage of Build America Bonds or Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, both of which have low interest rates and were created under the federal stimulus package. The county has already declared itself a Recovery Zone, making it eligible to issue about $6 million in bonds.

Has Boone County officials even discussed what it will do with its ARRA funds?

Board members [of McHenry County] voted, 13-8 with two abstentions, to allocate the bonds and allow the mental health board to use some of the $4 million to reimburse for expenses incurred to date planning for the expansion

McHenry County received $45.8 million in federal bonding authority under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to jump-start shovel-ready projects. The bonds are supposed to encourage lending by giving investors a 45 percent refund of the federal taxes payable on them, which in turn lowers interest rates.

The mental health board request represented the last of the $18.3 million in bonding authority for government agencies. The remaining $27.5 million must be used for private-sector projects

Readers—here is a little ego thing. I was very disappointed that there were only sixty citizens there—there must have been more than twenty officials from the various government agencies and paid consultants.

Bill Pysson of Belvidere questioned whether there needed to be two stations in Rockford — one at South Alpine Road and one downtown. He didn’t think the downtown one would get enough use to be worth the money. But he didn’t mind IDOT’s decision to put the route through Genoa instead of his city, since Amtrak’s study showed the Genoa route would cost less, be faster and draw more people. “I think the facts really indicate that it’s better for all of us if it went the other way,” Pysson said

Without advertisements or subscription fees, the micro-blogging service Twitter has had many wondering how the site makes money.

Stone said the company will introduce commercial accounts for businesses by year-end that will "make them better Twitterers." Stone emphasized that Twitter will remain free for all users, including businesses. But corporate users will have the option of paying for extra features such as analytics, which help businesses measure their online popularity and monitor traffic.

"In the past, we had enough employers to cover all the expenses that go into planning and preparing this event, so we could open it up to the community," she said. "With the drop in employers, we decided it would help us out if we charge admission to people who are not current students."

For the first time, the university's career services department is charging an admission fee to the fair for non-students. NIU students are admitted free, and alumni can get in for $5.